Employment

General staff / monitoring functions in OSCE field activities take a variety of forms. Included in this category are monitoring activities aside from those covered by other fields of expertise such as elections and police, as well as the work performed by those assigned to situation/watch operations and in staff/personal assistant positions.

The monitoring done may involve passive observation (e.g. of border movements) and reporting of significant development or a more proactive approach (e.g. the monitoring of the implementation of international agreements and obligations with the mandate for intervention where such agreements and obligations are ignored or breached).

Whether in monitoring positions, watch positions or staff assistant positions, however, those working in this field of expertise typically possess several core skills, including:

• A clear understanding of institutional relationships, both within the OSCE field activity to which they are assigned and between the OSCE field activity and its main partners and interlocutors;
• An operational orientation - i.e. the capacity to take prompt, appropriate action in response to observed events;
• The ability to translate such observed events into concise and accurate oral and written reports;
• The ability to support the creation of mechanisms which undergird the rule of law, public safety, and law and order.

Requirements

• Demonstrable organizational skills;
• Proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Demonstrable interpersonal skills and documented experience in negotiations;
• Depending on the field activity's mandate, significant prior experience in relevant fields such as international customs practices and procedures, law enforcement, and military observations and arms control may also be required;
• Negotiating experience, preferably in the area of monitoring operations and/or related activities.

Desirable

• Readiness to endure harsh conditions;
• Prior experience in the military, police or other organization with a well-developed chain of command structure;
• Previous operational and/or field experience.